Thread: Passing Strange

Xey is beginning to stir and is nearest to me, so I go to him first. Fortunately he had been struck mostly with the flat of the axe and its haft across his chest, absorbing most of the impact, so that the gash across his shoulder is shallow and not too serious, though his ribcage is grievously bruised - possibly a few ribs broken.

I help him struggle to his feet, groaning horrendously, and together we limp to where DeMonica lies, blood pooling rapidly around her body.

Her condition is far more serious. Her flesh is pierced in many places - two large tears in her exposed right thigh, one of which is bleeding profusely and I fear may be arterial, one in the left thigh, a long shallow slash across her abdomen, several puncture wounds on her bare right arm, and a deep dent in the breastplate that would definitely have been fatal had she not been wearing it.

We immediately stop Zombie_Muffin and wrap her leash around a small sapling standing nearby and tear strips of blanket to begin patching up DeMonica's wounds as best we can after rinsing them with water from the jugs that she threw to the ground immediately upon hearing the creature crashing through the woods.

Even when tightly bandaged the wound high and inside on her right thigh bleeds unstoppably, quickly soaking the bandage and seeping out down her leg and into her thigh high boot.

She recovers consciousness as we're patching her up and to her everlasting credit emits not a single groan or moan, but her jaw is set tightly and her face is shockingly pale and blanched, and we fear without medical attention she won't last long.

"So - everybody make it?" comes a lilting voice nearby.

Sera! We had been so preoccupied with bandaging up our own that we hadn't even checked on the little demon child. I must admit I assumed she was dead after seeing her pierced body flung so incredibly far and smashed against the ground so powerfully.

"Yeah, I've had worse." She says nonchalantly, dusting off her black hoodie. "Mutant healing abilities, remember?"

"Well - wasn't I the lucky one - " Diddy muses as he unties himself from the palette, apparently tired of hanging uncomfortably underneath it in its upside-down condition. "I wasn't even hurt!"

"Yeah, but you're the hero of the day." I remind him. "You saved us all! Nice touch by the way, invoking the name of O just as you let fly the arrow!"

"TOUCH!??" he cries, amazed. "That was no theatrics my boy - and after all I got the idea from you!"

In response to my quizzical look he explains.

"You really don't know, do you? Heh, you were a bit incoherent at the time, all growly and gutteral like you had no idea what you were saying... but it was you who shouted O Holy Knight just as you threw the dagger and pierced the creature's side."

".. REALLY!!??! I said that?"

"Oh yes!"

"So.. " Xey cuts in. " 'owdja do it anyway then mate? Get ahold of the bow and an arrow I mean? bein' as you were strapped behind the zombie and all at the time... "

"Heh - well, I found that by leaning hard - hard enough to physically tilt the sledge, I could force her into a tight turn. When DeMonica threw down the bow I was already headed that way and I just picked it up as she dragged me past - no idea why at the time really. Probably just OCD and wanting to clean the battlefield while the fight was still in progress!

"But then when DeMonica fell I tuned Muffin toward her to see if there was anything I could do to help her. Of course the problem with that plan was that I had no brakes - I could steer but not stop! So instead as she dragged me past I thought to grab a handful of arrows out of her quiver. I'm no archer of course - hell, as weak as I am now I could barely hold the bow at full extension, but as soon as I shouted O's name it seemed to help. I was somehow able to actually draw it back a lot farther than I expected, and for just a moment my arm stopped shaking and I just knew when I let loose that it would find its mark."

"Ok folks," Sera cuts in. "this is all well and good and all, but we'd better be on our way. We need to get her some help."

She has picked up the hefty battle axe from the ground next to the fallen monster and hands it to me. She started to offer it to Xey first, but he shrank from it as from a striking viper - not surprising I suppose after the damage it did to him. So I thrust the shaft of it into my belt. It was small in the hand of that monster, but will be quite a heavy weapon for me to wield.

Soon we're underway again - a sad sight now. Diddy once again secured, his palette now upright - Sera leading Zombie_Muffin, and Xey and I struggling to hold DeMonica upright between us as we all limp painfully.

In this fashion we make a good 200 yards before another of the stag creatures bursts from the wood, running in a long curving arc toward us and brandishing a heavy broadsword.